BERLIN — European leaders converge in Brussels Thursday for an end-of-year summit meant to reinforce a union cracking under a refugee crisis that has laid bare the limits of the bloc’s solidarity.

Instead of achieving reconciliation, however, the summit is more likely to expose the depths of the Continent’s divisions, as a growing faction of leaders resists sacrificing national sovereignty in the name of EU unity.

When leaders gather for their traditional Thursday evening supper, they are expected to discuss everything from Britain’s reform proposals for the EU to the region’s planned energy union.

Yet the refugee crisis, which has forced members to confront uncomfortable questions about their commitment to European principles, will dominate the agenda.

“We have arrived at the end of a turbulent and very difficult year for Europe,” Angela Merkel said in a speech to the German parliament Wednesday afternoon.

“We’ve been forced to witness Europe’s solidarity repeatedly being put to the test.”

While Merkel may be regarded as the EU’s dominant political figure, Europe has become increasingly treacherous terrain for the German chancellor. If the Greek crisis illustrated the extent of Germany’s economic dominance of Europe under Merkel, the refugee crisis has shown the limits of its political sway.

Time and again, Merkel, who has staked her legacy on resolving the cascade of challenges presented by the refugee crisis, has repeated the imperative that other countries share the burden. For the most part, her calls have been ignored.

In recent days Merkel has managed to win back confidence for her refugee strategy in Germany. By pursuing a range of initiatives, from new ID cards for refugees to plans for an EU border patrol, she has restored some confidence in her government’s ability to manage the crisis. Still, if Germany’s European allies don’t offer Berlin more help soon, Merkel will find herself under renewed pressure.

Unlike European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Parliament President Martin Schulz, Merkel has refrained from warning of Europe’s demise, emphasizing instead the importance of Europe to Germany.

Her allies say it is not that she isn’t worried about Europe’s future, but that she doesn’t want to be blamed if it falls apart.

After months of trying to prod the rest of Europe into action, Merkel appears to have recognized that her colleagues are unlikely to offer little more than lip service to tackle the refugee crisis.

“Clearly the Council is not going to achieve a breakthrough,” Merkel said, using the formal term for the leaders’ gathering.

The European Commission estimates that about 1.5 million refugees have arrived in Europe so far this year. Germany has taken in about 1 million.

Berlin led a push earlier in the fall to allocate about 160,000 of the arrivals across the EU. While that number represents only a fraction of the refugees Germany has taken in, Berlin was keen to show the German public that other countries were willing to share the responsibility.

Even though other EU members eventually agreed to participate, they have since accepted only a fraction of their contingents.

All told, less than 200 refugees have been relocated under the program.

Europe’s only common response to the refugee crisis has been to reinforce border controls, raising questions about the viability of the Schengen treaty, which allows for borderless travel across most of the region.

The moves have spooked those countries that have gained most from the open frontiers, in particular those in Eastern Europe. Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka wrote to fellow EU leaders this week urging them to take steps to save the Schengen agreement.

Even as they push to preserve the EU’s open borders, the Czech Republic and other eastern member countries have been the most vociferous in resisting refugees, citing cultural differences and fears of terrorism.

On Tuesday, the Commission presented a proposal for a 1,500-strong rapid reaction force to secure the EU’s external borders.

Germany and France both endorse the idea.

“The reality is that this isn’t a European border patrol and coast guard but a paper tiger.”

Manfred Weber, who heads the center-right European People’s Party in the European Parliament, called on EU states to embrace a joint border patrol.

“That means EU officials will be posted on the external borders with the European flag on their arm, patrolling in the name of Europe,” he told German radio. “National sovereignty is no longer being defended on any external border, rather Europe is being protected.”

While few in Europe question the importance of securing the EU’s borders, a number of countries, including Poland and Greece, have raised concerns about the implications of the plan on national sovereignty.

Skeptics say the plan is likely unworkable for both legal and political reasons. The Commission has suggested the force could be even deployed against the objections of a member country.

“The reality is that this isn’t a European border patrol and coast guard but a paper tiger,” said Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute in Washington. “It doesn’t have a realistic chance of working in the real world.”

Kirkegaard points out that previous EU plans to beef up Frontex, its border service, have fallen short.

One prominent initiative involves so-called “hotspots,” registration centers for refugees in Greece and Italy. The plan is for the centers, once they are up and running, to register refugees and allocate them across the EU.

Greece, the entry point for the vast majority of Syrian refugees, agreed to set up five hotspots but so far only has one.

The project has suffered from inadequate funding and a refusal by other EU countries to take in the arrivals. Instead, Greece simply points the refugees toward Germany.

Such failures help explain why Merkel has pursued other solutions. She spearheaded Europe’s deal with Turkey, for example. Most refugees pass through Turkey en route to Europe. In exchange for helping stem the flow, Turkey will receive about €3 billion in EU aid.

Early indications suggest that agreement has paid off. Illegal border crossings fell to just over 9,000 last week from over 52,000 in late October. Whether the decline is the result of inclement weather, Turkish enforcement of its border, or a combination is unclear. Whatever the case, the slowdown takes some pressure off European leaders to act.

Juncker, ruminating on the crisis during a speech to the European Parliament on Wednesday, expressed confidence that members would eventually rise to the occasion.

“Always when we’ve faced problems, men and women stood up who wanted to shape history instead of just letting history happen,” he said.